The world's first generation of fourth-generation nuclear power is connected to the grid

December 20, the national science and technology major project - Huaneng Shidao Bay High temperature gas cooled reactor demonstration project No. 1 reactor for the first time successfully connected to the grid, marking the world's first with the fourth generation of advanced nuclear energy system characteristics of the spherical bed module high temperature gas cooled reactor, to achieve a qualitative leap from "laboratory" to "engineering application", to achieve the high temperature gas cooled reactor nuclear power technology "China led".

According to the relevant person in charge of China Huaneng, the current operation indicators of the demonstration project unit are normal, the reactor, turbogenerator and related system equipment are running stably, the No. 1 reactor is steadily advancing to a single pile of power, and the tests before the No. 2 reactor is connected to the grid for power generation are carried out in an orderly manner. Shuangdui is expected to be fully operational by mid-2022.

As a new generation of nuclear power project independently designed, built, commissioned and operated by China Huaneng, Tsinghua University and China Nuclear Power Group, the high temperature gas cooled reactor demonstration project is jointly built by China Huaneng, with an installed capacity of 200,000 kilowatts, which was included in one of the 16 national science and technology major projects in 2006, and began construction in Rongcheng, Shandong Province, at the end of 2012.

According to the information released by CNNC, the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor is known as a "non-meltdown reactor", and its nuclear fuel element is a high-temperature all-ceramic coated pellet spherical nuclear fuel element, which can also be called a fuel ball. At Shidaowan HTR demonstration Power Station, the fuel sphere is 6 cm in diameter, the outermost layer is a graphite layer, and inside is about 12,000 four-layer ceramic material coated nuclear fuel particles with a diameter of about 0.9 mm dispersed in the matrix graphite powder. The experiment shows that the fuel ball can remain intact and effectively block radioactive leakage under the high temperature condition of 1620℃. Moreover, due to the good negative temperature feedback, even in the event of a limit accident, the reactor's in-pile temperature can not reach the high temperature limit of 1620℃.

In addition to the fuel ball protection, the high temperature gas cooled reactor adopts modular design in the design concept.

Compared with large pressurized water reactors, each small module of high-temperature gas cooled reactors can use a very low power density, about 1/30 of that of large pressurized water reactors. As a result, the residual heat generated after the reactor shutdown is at a low level, which means that in the event of any accident, even without human intervention, the reactor can automatically shut down and radiate the residual heat safely, avoiding a core meltdown.

The reporter learned that the high temperature gas cooled reactor nuclear power plant demonstration project has overcome a number of worldwide and industrial "jam" key technical problems in the field of nuclear power, making the localization rate of equipment reach 93.4%, only the first use of equipment there are more than 2,200 units (sets), more than 600 innovative equipment. Including the world's first high temperature gas cooled reactor spiral coil type DC steam generator, and initially set up China's independent innovation of the fourth generation of high temperature gas cooled reactor nuclear power standard system and intellectual property protection system, helping to promote China in the fourth generation of advanced nuclear energy technology to seize the world's "highland".

According to the relevant person in charge of China Huaneng, the high temperature gas cooled reactor has good inherent safety, high power generation efficiency, strong environmental adaptability, and wide use, and has broad prospects for commercial application in the fields of nuclear power generation, cogeneration of heat and power and high temperature process heat, which is of great significance to optimize China's energy structure, ensure the security of energy supply, and achieve the goal of carbon reduction. At present, the development pattern of China Huaneng's three coastal nuclear power bases, Shidaowan in Shandong Province, Changjiang in Hainan Province and Xiapu in Fujian Province, has been fully formed, and the Huaneng Nuclear Energy Technology Research Institute (Huaneng High Temperature Reactor Technology Research Center) has entered into practical operation.